“The club is taking all appropriate steps to notify any person whose information is potentially at risk,” reads a statement issued Wednesday by the NFL. “All clubs have been directed to re-confirm that they have reviewed their internal data protection and privacy policies, and that medical information is stored and transmitted on password-protected and encrypted devices.”

Unfortunately, there’s little they can do about the laptop itself. Even in light of their swift response, they’ve no means of safeguarding the files present on the stolen device. With a document control solution like BlackBerry Workspaces, formerly known as WatchDox, in place, however, they’d have had multiple options for keeping their players’ medical records safe:

1. File-Level Encryption

Even if the thief was technically sophisticated enough to bypass the laptop’s login security and access the files (or sold the laptop to someone with advanced hacking skills), they still would not have access to BlackBerry Workspaces-protected files. BlackBerry Workspaces safeguards each file individually with 256-bit encryption and user authentication.

2. Access Revocation

Even if a device is breached, its files remain secure. By revoking access to sensitive files present on the laptop, the NFL could have ensured that if the thief was aware the medical records were present, they’d be incapable of accessing them. Without file permissions, the thief would be left with nothing but unhackable data blobs.

3. Custom Authentication Time Outs

Administrators are able to set custom authentication timeout periods for accessing files offline. By the time the thief gained access to the user’s account, they would still need to authenticate with the BlackBerry Workspaces server to access the encrypted documents.

And if the thief somehow gained access to the user’s account on the local operating system but did not bring the computer online, the files would remain encrypted and unusable.

4. A Robust Tracking System

If the criminal gained access to the user’s account and brought the laptop online, revoked files would automatically be removed. But why not push a decoy file to the device through the sync engine? When accessed, BlackBerry Workspaces’ tracking capabilities would help determine the thief’s location and IP address. At that point, the NFL could have forwarded the information to law enforcement, bringing the criminal that much closer to justice.

In an age where digital attacks and phishing scams seem to be a daily occurrence, it’s easy to forget that our data can be put at risk by what happens in the physical world, too.

Particularly in the age of mobility, device theft is an enduring threat. Password protections and encryption are both important, but both can be broken. And there’s no way of knowing for sure if your business partners will use either when dealing with your data.

With BlackBerry Workspaces, you needn’t worry. You retain full control over your files even if they’re on the stolen device of a hapless user, regardless whether or not they’re under your employ.

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